Meet Singapore’s 80-year-old Pull-Up Grandma

Charlotte with her daughter and PT Yan

When Charlotte Lim retired in her late 50’s, she wanted to add a little more movement into her life. But the local gym felt intimidating and serious, treadmills and weights felt tedious, and she often left wondering whether she was using the correct technique. A lack of progress, and the sudden death of her husband at 69 from a heart attack, propelled Charlotte and her daughter Yan, and son Tiat, to rethink their health.

As a result, Yan, 42, and Tiat, 53, co-founded Bespoke Fitness gym (bespokefitness.fit). Knowing about her mum’s struggle to stay motivated with her exercise routine, Yan encouraged Charlotte to join her FitRX® gym sessions incorporating HIIT, calisthenics, strength training, and burst cardio. “That was eight years ago and I wasn’t keen at first,” Charlotte admits. “I was 72 years old! Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d be doing chin-ups or pull-ups at my age!”

Powerful & resilient

Today, those sessions, which were personally developed by Yan and Tiat, are a non-negotiable part of Charlotte’s life. Now 80, and affectionately known as “Auntie C” or “Pull-Up Grandma”, she follows a carefully structured routine with Yan. Her fitness cycle features three FitRX® classes per week, and every day has its own focus: Monday for chest and biceps, Tuesday for shoulders and legs, Wednesday for core, Thursday for back and triceps, Friday for legs, Saturday for a bodyweight bootcamp, and Sunday is reserved for the Mega WOD (Workout of the Day).

Every session is broken into three parts: a warm-up of calisthenics, a strength and conditioning segment, and the WOD, which pushes burst cardio to the max. Each session lasts about an hour, but Charlotte admits that she’ll sometimes take longer, and it takes her two hours to finish what younger clients complete in 40 minutes. “Once it took me three hours!” she recalls. Even on her days off Auntie C keeps moving. Active recovery usually means a 1.2km run, plus bodyweight exercises at home, or tackling the gym’s ongoing challenges like 5,000 sit-ups in two months.

It’s a routine that keeps Charlotte feeling powerful and resilient. “The gyms I used to go to were full of people the same age as me, all complaining,” she says. “But exercising with my daughter keeps my energy levels up. She doesn’t let me slack off, and I can see the returns.”

At a petite 1.58m and 49kg, her achievements include six strict pull-ups, a 50kg barbell squat, and a dead hang lasting over four minutes. Charlotte confesses, “Pull-ups were the hardest to master – it took me four years to complete my first one. I’m a perfectionist. I want to comply with instructions so I can perform to specifications.” With true strength inside and out, she credits her motivation and dedication to growing up with strict Chinese parents from a poor background. “I’m governed by a value instilled in me from my youth: when I embark on something, I must and will finish it, no matter how long it takes.”

From left: At Bird Paradise with Singapore’s Minister for Health, Ong Ye Kung. Charlotte’s healthy Garlic 5 Spice Pork Rib recipe

Nutritious food prep

Seeing her mum’s progress and being super-proud of her achievements, Yan, who’s certified by the American College of Sports Medicine and FISAF Singapore, posted a TikTok video two years ago that catapulted Auntie C into stardom. “Yan is the one who manages my Instagram account and gave me the social media handle of Pull-Up Grandma. Now I have to work harder to live up to my name!” Charlotte says.

As well as committing to an exercise routine, Charlotte also began paying closer attention to her diet. Although she’s always loved cooking, she now channels her passion into meals that fuel her workouts. She starts the day with a healthy “breakfast bowl” packed with protein powder, cottage cheese, chia seeds, collagen, cocoa powder, and more – a powerhouse that keeps her energised for morning gym sessions.

Cooking more nutritious versions of her favourite local dishes soon evolved into a full meal plan including local comfort food such as chicken curry, nasi lemak, and rendang, using techniques like air frying to cut added oil while maintaining taste. With 21 meals across one week, Charlotte eats clean 19 times, with two cheat meals. The plan was coined by Tiat as BERP – the Bespoke Eat Right Programme. “It’s clean cooking with NO SOAP: no sugar, oil, additives, or processed food.”

As Charlotte’s online following grew, so too did the popularity of her BERP meals, which are now available with meal ideas on Instagram.

Alongside food and exercise, quality sleep is also non-negotiable for Charlotte, with her prioritising seven to eight hours every night. As for her post-workout daily routine, mornings are spent at the market, followed by food prep and house cleaning. In the afternoons she enjoys a siesta after lunch followed by some quiet Bible reading. She does allow herself the occasional treat, her favourite being chendol, which the family tuck into on day trips to Malaysia.

Raising the bar

Training with your children may not be everyone’s choice, but it has brought Charlotte and her kids closer together. “I’m privileged to be trained by them. Their methodology is well researched and science-backed, and I’ve learnt that perseverance, discipline, and following instructions are key to enjoying the results of hard work,” she says.

A self-confessed “Tiger Mum”, Charlotte admits she was once a strict parent who rarely smiled or had fun. Exercise has since transformed her – not just physically, but mentally. “My children constantly raise the bar for me, signing me up for competitions without my approval! I just do as Yan tells me!” It’s a mindset that has taken Charlotte beyond the gym, from a 100-metre dash to a photoshoot with Singapore’s Health Minister, and even skydiving!

The biggest misconception about ageing, she says, is that older people are weak, frail, and injury-prone. However, she admits she struggles to convince friends her age to join fitness sessions with her. “I tell people: I’m your blueprint. Exercise like me. Eat like me. Sleep like me. This is how you stay disease-free. I’m proud of my resilience. I don’t have high cholesterol, high blood pressure, or diabetes, and I’m not on any medication,” she says, adding with a smile, “I’m having the time of my life.”

Discover more at bespokefitness.fit
@fitrx_singapore   @pullup_grandma   @coachwhy_yan

Charlotte putting ANZA’s Chrissy through her paces!

“I tried Auntie C’s workout” By ANZA’s Chrissy Lim

“I started exercising for the first time last year and thought I was doing okay… but I couldn’t keep up with Charlotte! She makes FitRX® look effortless, but within minutes I was sweating, puffing, and regretting my workout outfit. By the end, I was wiped out, but totally in awe. Pull-Up Grandma is next-level and a true inspiration.”